Oil-burning locomotive



J. T. ANTHONY AND G. M. BEAN.

()L BURNING LOCOMOTIVE.

A .ICATION FILED NOV. 3, I917- Patenfed May 18,1920.

A TTORNEY UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES T. ANTHONY, OF EAST ORANGE, NEW JERSEY, AND GUY M. BEAN, OF LOS AN GELES, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNORS TO AMERICAN ARCH COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

OIL-BURNIN G LOCOMOTIVE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 18, 1920.

Application filed November 3, 1917. Serial No. 200,192.

T 0 aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, JAMns T. ANTHONY, of East Orange, count of Essex, and State of New Jersey, and UY M. BEAN, of Los Angeles, county'of Los Angeles, and State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Oil-Burning Locomotives, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to oil burning furnaces or fireboxes for use in connection with locomotive boilers. It has for its primary objects the provision of a fire-box of the character specified wherein the fuel will be most efficiently consumed with a resultant absence of smoke; the provision of a firebox so constructed as to retain after the fire is extinguished, for a period of time considerably longer than hitherto possible, a great proportion of the heat whereby relighting of the fire can be accomplished simply by renewing the supply of oil without the necessity of introducing burning waste or the like which is the usual practice where present structures are used; the provision of a very large furnace volume by dropping the fire pan below the mud ring with a consequent increase in the heating surface exposed; and, in general, the provision of an oil burning locomotive fire box which shall operate with greater efficiency and certainty and more economy than those heretofore used for burning oil.

We have illustrated the invention in its preferred form in the accompanying drawings as applied to the well-known type of fire box having the Gaines wall, for we find that best results are obtained where it is used in conjunction with the Gaines wall.

Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of a locomotive fire-box provided with the Gaines wall and illustrating our invention applied thereto; Figs. 2 and 3 are sections on the lines 11-11 and IIIIII of Fig. 1 respectively looking in the direction of the arrows; and Fig. 1 is a plan view of the interior of the fire box on a reduced scale illustrating a feature of the invention.

The fire box is, in general, of standard construction comprising a crown sheet 3, a flue sheet at, side sheets 5, and a back sheet 6 surrounded by water spaces. The structure imder consideration embodies the Gaines wall 7 extending transversely of the fire box a short distance to the rear of the flue sheet, through the passages 8, of which, air is admitted to the interior. Between the flue sheet and this wall, substantially at the level of the mud ring 9, is a discharge opening 10 situated at the central and lowest point of a floor 11 which slopes from each side toward the center.

Between the Gaines wall and the rear of the fire box We locate our fire pan or trough 12 which extends well below the mud ring. 9, thereby giving maximum furnace volume with a maximum firebox heating surface exposed. This fire pan is composed of a forward wall 13, a rear or flash Wall 14, a floor 15, and two outwardly sloping side walls 16. The floor should be uniformly level with an opening 17 to the atmosphere near the rear, controlled by a damper 18, through which air may be introduced into the fire box. Projecting through the opening 19 in the front wall of the fire pan is the burner 20. The opening 19 around the burner is controlled by means of the damper 21 for regulating the quantity of air admitted therethrough. The flameway channel formed between the two sloping side walls 16 of the fire pan or trough is narrow at the burner and widens out gradually throughout its entire length as clearly shown in Fig, 4. In the side walls 16 from substantially the middle thereof to the rear are formed a series of small air openings 22 constituting the main source of air supply. A short arch 23 above the burner, spanning the flame channel, extends toward the rear preferably about one-third of the distance from the burner or front wall of the fire pan. This arch carries the gases and the air admitted around the burner to the rear of the pan and prevents any tendency there may be toward what is calledshort-circuiting to the lines. This causes a thorough mixing of the air, admitted through the opening 19 with the oil, and the radiated heatfrom the arch on the upper part of the oil stream hastens the completion of the combustion, all of which materially reduces the quantity of smoke formed under road conditions. Smoke is caused by the precipitation of carbon due to the breaking down of the hydrocarbon constituents of the oil, before the oil gets thoroughly mixed with the oxy en furnished by the air. This breaking own of iii the hydrocarbons is due entirely to tempera tag eous result. The greater portion of the remaining air necessary 13 brought in through the openings 22 and the damper 18. The arch and the walls and floor of the fire pan are of refractory material and by 7 virtue of their relative arrangement a sufficient amount of the heat generated during operation can be retained for a long perlod after the oil supply is out off, thereby making it possible to reignite the 011 without the necessity of throwing into the fire box burning waste or the like.

It will be further observed that by virtue of the introduction and location of the arch 23 not only is the travel for the flame increased in extent, but the action of the wall 7 in its reflection of heat toward the rear is protected against interference such as would occur if the products of combustion were free to sweep upwardly and directly in front of the wall as would be the tendency in the absence of the arch 23. There is also thus provided a space included in the angle or corner between the wall 7 and the arch 23 subject as stated to the intensifying effect of the refie ted heat projected backward from the wall 7, within which space a zone of heat can be maintained such as will promote the fficiency of the combustion opera tion.

We claim:

1. In an oil burning locomotive, the combination of a fire box, 2. depending fire pan having a front wall, a rear or flash wall, side walls, and a floor, a transverse wall in the fire box ahead of the pan, a refractory arch at the forward end of the pan between the fire box and the pan, an air inlet in the front wall, a burner projecting therethrough, and openings in the side walls for l admitting additional air.

2. In an oil burning locomotive, the combination of a fire box, a trough below, the fire box, and a burner at one end of'the trough, the trough being narrowest at the burner and widening gradually throughout its length.

3. In an oil burning locomotive, the combination of a fire box, a longitudinal trough below the fire box having inclined side walls, a burner at the forward end of the trough, the trough being narrowest at the burner and widening gradually throughout its length.

4. In an oil burning locomotive, the combination of a fire box, a trough below the fire box, a burner at the forward end of the ltrough, means adjacent the burner for admitting air to the trough, additional air inlet means toward the rear of the trough, and an arch between the trough and the fire box above the burner and extending rearwardly therefrom, the trough having inclined side walls and widening throughout its length from the burner to the rear.

5. In an oil burning locomotive, the combination of a fire box, a depending fire pan at the bottom of the fire box located to the rear of the front wall of the box, a refractory arch at the forward end of the pan between the fire box and the. pan, means for supplying fuel and air to said pan beneath said arch, and a transverse Wall in the fire box located in a plane above and in advance of said refractory arch but spaced away from the front wall of the box.

6. In an oil burning locomotive, the .com-

bination of a fire box, a depending fire pan at the bottom of the fire box, looatedto the rear of the front wall of the box, a refractory arch at the forward end of the pan between the fire box and the pan, means for supplying fuel and air to said pan beneath the arch, means toward the rear of the pan for introducing additional air, and a transverse wall in the fire box located in the plane above and in advance of said refraci tory arch, but spaced away from the front wall of the box. 7

In testimony whereof we have hereunto signed our names.

JAMES T. ANTHONY.

GUY M. BEAN. 

